slim1der

[slim1der]

It’s fall in south eastern North Carolina and that’s a lot of different directions that point to one place and some things I’ve noticed here are that the trees are mostly ever green and the soil is sandy and remote places are easy to find and if you pack a lunch you can find a place to sit and eat by some water and be alone for a few minutes.

[slim1der]

Autumn is here for me and my days are getting shorter and winter will be here soon enough. I was reminded of this last weekend when a series of frantic text messages and phone calls came through in rapid succession to let me know that I’d lost a friend. In that moment it would have been easy to have a pity party for one, but fortunately the kids surrounded me and i was reminded that there is beauty in autumn and in one’s winters and watching them grow and celebrate their springs and summers made me smile. It is well.

[slim1der]

It’s probably cliche at this point, but I’m still in awe when i get a roll of film back and remember the times and the shots that are stored on there. Sometimes it takes me 6 months to use up a roll of film and by the time i get around to developing it I’ve forgotten what was on it. Opening the envelope and looking at the prints always fills me with a kind of nervous excitement. Kinda like Christmas.

[slim1der]

It’s one of those gray December mornings. You know the ones. It’s cold. It’s wet. And I’d much rather sit in the sun that comes through that window and watch the missus sip her coffee. But that dang dog kept looking at me. And he kept looking at me. And he just wouldn’t stop until we walked out to the South side and watched the sun come up over the sand.

[slim1der]

If you ever get the chance to ride bikes through North Georgia in November I highly recommend you seize the chance. Pack a bag full of food, a tarp or a tent (it’ll probably rain), and a filter. There’s lots of flowing water and the leaves are that special shade of rose and gold and the descents are worth the climbs and you just might meet a stranger who offers you beer and that’s a good thing.

[slim1der]

I can't say it's been a bad summer. It rained a lot, but my only goal was to get outside as often as possible. We listened to the unabridged The Deathly Hallows as narrated by Jim Dale. It took us three road trips to finish, but the kiddos kept looking for excuses to get back in the car. "Can we drive up to Sliding Rock? And BTW can we listen to Harry Potter on the way?" Summer's almost over and it feels like mission accomplished.

[slim1der]

It's been raining pretty much non stop on Atlanta for the last several weeks. We've been feeling pretty Pacific Northwest-y lately. I've had the strangest urge to trade in my fisherman Columbia shirt for a flannel one. Anyway, me, Melvin and Mr. Stober ultimately ventured out for a quick jaunt in the rain. We rolled the Arabia Mountain Trail. I warned the guys about the dangers of wet bridges and boardwalks but perhaps I did so a bit too late.

[slim1der]

It was raining all day and the trails were closed. Atlanta Streets Alive was going on, but to be perfectly honest I was just feeling really lazy. We went to church and after that the kiddo had a jazz band concert (which he killed BTW). After that I was kinda bored so I started rummaging around the parts bin and came across an old Chromag downhill-esque bar. I decided to throw them on the Retrotec for giggles. I’d been running jonesbars on this bike for the last two years and have loved them so I really was planning a swap and swap back kinda afternoon. The only grip I had laying around were a mismatched set of ergon super comfy grips (I don’t even think they make these anymore). The right grip is gripshift length and black. The left grip is the regular size and cork. Anyhoo, ten minutes later I decided to spin around the ATL in the rain. Man! You couldn’t wipe the grin off my face! The super wide bars let me huck the massive 29x3 tires around (and by huck I mean old-man-huck off curbs and such). This is definitely going to be the set up for a while. Or at least till the next bike packing trip.